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Mavis asks Zeref to promise her to try cupcakes with sprinkles one day.

~~~

He was alone, like always.

It had become a habit of his. He learned to stay away from others, knowing that he would always hurt them in the end. No matter how hard he tried, everyone around him would die. They already had, so what was the point of continuing on with this?

The emptiness in his soul consumed him everyday, slowly erasing his more human-like attributes. Day by day, he was becoming a mere shadow of the young boy that used to care for everyone.

Silently, he stood in the grove on this quiet, secluded island. No one could reach him here. It was just the way he wanted it.

He sighed, collapsing at the base of a solid cherry blossom tree, watching the bright pink petals disintegrate between his fingertips.

Suddenly, there was a soft crunch as someone padded towards him. His head whipped to the side, horror clenching his heart.

"No! Stay away from me!" He cried, backing away.

An elf-like, wavy-haired blonde girl peeked from her spot behind a tree, blinking at him with wide, innocent emerald green eyes. Two pink wings sprouted from either side of her small head. He glared bitterly, wishing that she would leave him be. Shutting his eyes, he counted to ten as he felt the dark wave of magic overcome him again.

Silence filled the grove as dark energy escaped from his motionless figure. Moments later, everything around him was dead.

"Why should I stay away?"

Her voice was high and crystal-clear, young and beautiful like her appearance.

Shocked, he stood up immediately.

"What? How are you...how did you..." he stuttered through his words, gaping at the smiling girl before him.

She giggled and beamed at him, a light blush on her cheeks. "I knew you would do that. But I was careful and released just enough magic energy to restore myself and the life in this clearing." As she said this, a black rabbit slowly regained its original fur color and leaped up with vigor. Rotten trees became strong and full of life once again. The dead grass at his feet turned into glowing green blades.

Too astonished to speak, he regarded her. With this new found knowledge, he relaxed and approached her.

"I'm Mavis. What's your name?" She asked, sticking out her hand. He cautiously shook it and sighed in relief when she didn't die right before his eyes.

He eyed her coyly, sending her a small smile. "Zeref. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

She was a sly one. Blinking, she grinned. "Of course! I've heard all about you. You're a bad, bad wizard, but you don't really seem that bad to me, now do you?" She said this with confidence as she watched his reaction.

Instead of running off like he expected, she stayed in her place, the smile dropping from her face. "Even if you've given up on yourself, there is always someone who is there for you. Even if you don't know who it is." She answered with power and emotion.

She spoke like she was older than she looked. She had this infinite wisdom to her that told him she was definitely something more than the youthful and bubbly girl on the outside.

Extending a hand to him, she pulled him up. "Come. How long have you been away from the outside world? You probably need to catch up." She said, a smile on her face.

He snorted and sighed, following her with his hand tightly coiled around hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you don't know what a cupcake is."

"No."

"Sprinkles?"

"Nope."

She sighed in exasperation as they sat next to the small lake. Throwing her hands up, she shook her head.

"Well, what do you know?"

He grinned, feeling like his old self. "I know that you're definitely a weird child."

She glared mockingly at him, splashing him with her foot. The black mage quickly stood up and tossed her in. She squealed, waving her hands in an almost comical way.

"Eek! Baka!" She squeaked.

Zeref laughed and swam in after her. He looked around in confusion. Where had the girl gone?

"Mavis? Mavis!" He cried, dunking his head under. He finally saw her sitting at the lake bottom, flashing light around her. He chuckled to himself, pushing the girl to the surface.

"Hi-yah!" She shouted, karate-chopping the water in front of her. Water splashed into his face. Disgruntled, he retaliated by tickling her.

"Kyah! H-hey! S-stop!" She yelled in between peals of laughter.

When they finally stopped attacking each other with water, they lay on the ground in exhaustion.

"Zeref, can you keep a promise?" She asked quietly.

He shrugged, standing up and helping the young girl. "It depends," he replied.

"Promise me that you're going to try cupcakes with sprinkles. And that you'll love them."

He sweat dropped, staring in bewilderment at the blonde girl. Sighing, he smiled in amusement. "All right," he told the hopeful girl, "I promise."

"Yay!" She cheered, jumping in the air. He smiled fondly.

Yes, she was a weird child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was years later when the two met again.

She was older and much prettier while he was still the same as he had been when they had first met. There was still that devious spark in her eyes, but she seemed to be worried about something.

"I tried cupcakes with sprinkles," he said when they first met again on the island.

She smiled at him. "That's good. Did you like them?"

"I loved them," he responded honestly. They walked towards each other, meeting at the middle and appraising each other.

"And every time I ate one, I remembered you."

She giggled, reminding him of the young girl that had brought out his old self.

The self that had truly cared. The self that had actually believed life would have a happy ending.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn't want her to die. She didn't deserve to die.

Tears streaked down his pale face as she watched her complete her final resting spot. She was pale from weariness, her blonde curls clinging to the sides of her face.

"Mavis—"

She smiled at him, collapsing in his arms. Closing her green eyes, she listened to his strong heart beat in his chest.

"Shh...be quiet. Can you promise me one more thing?" She asked softly, her voice a mere whisper.

Shaking, he nodded mutely. He looked down at her grave in which she had placed three of her guild's most powerful spells.

"Promise me that you'll see Fairy Tail one day."

He nodded once again, just sitting there with the dying girl in her arms. When her shallow breathing had finally stopped, his heart broke. In the end, someone he had loved more than the rest had died.

"Mavis, I love you."

He did keep his promise. He had left their little island, watching and taking care of Fairy Tail from a distance. He was happy to realize that one of the third generation mages of Fairy Tail, a dragon slayer, would finally bring him peace. He would finally be with Mavis.

"Innocent, cute little Mavis..."

He finally came back to the island, many years later. Walking to her grave, he sat there and placed a small cupcake with rainbow sprinkles and purple whip-cream. She had always liked purple. Most people would've placed flowers on a friend's grave, but he knew Mavis would have thought bringing black flowers or something was too depressing and traditional.

He sat there, thinking of what she was like before and everything about her. He knew her hopes, her dreams, her phobias, her little pet-peeves, everything about her. It was the little things that made her different from anyone he had ever met.

Placing a hand on her grave, he sobbed silently. There was an ache in his heart, a gaping abyss which wouldn't be filled. He cried and cried, unable to hold it in anymore. She was gone.

She was really gone.

"Thanks for the cupcake."

He whirled around and saw none other than the one he was missing. Her eyes twinkled and the side of her mouth twitched, a delicate hand on the side of the cave.